Winged
by IvoryBrush
Summary: One night, the team is roughly dragged from their beds as director Fury brings one of S.H.I.E.L.D.s creations. Post movie, may contain movie spoilers. Established Pepperony. Beta reader needed!
1. Disturbance

A/N I do not own any of the characters or their original stories. I'm looking for a beta reader!

"Open the goddamn door!" a deep voice shouted from behind the glass wall in Tony's workshop. Tony sighed deeply and rose from the floor with a loud groan. He had been sitting on his knees for way too long. The figure at the other side of the glass started pounding on the door. "I know you are there Tony, open this thing! I need you, NOW!" Tony Start frowned in irritation. That man was seriously insufferable, making such a ruckus in HIS house on a time like this. "I'm coming! Sheesh ease it up old man! JARVIS! Open the door will ya." "Right away, sir" JARVIS said in his monotone voice and the door clicked open to reveal a very agitated director Fury.

Tony smirked his trademark smile "well well, what a delightful visitor, I'm honored." "Cut the crap Stark, I don't have time for your games" Nick snapped while striding into the lab. DUM-E beeped questioningly and quickly rolled out of the way, knocking over a pile of what looked like discarded steel plates. The billionaire glared at his clumsy robot, but before he could chide the machine his thoughts were interrupted by director Fury once again. "Tony, I need you upstairs, the rest is awake already."

The genius moved his glare from DUM-E to the man with the eye patch and made a mental note to never open the door to that pain in the behind again. "I don't WANT to come upstairs, I was working. You know…doing genius stuff and inventing things. So leave me alone and stop pestering my housemates. They need their beauty sleep so you can play with them tomorrow, or actually later today." He had just turned his back to the director to get back to work when the dark man slammed his fist on the workbench. "Damn it Tony! I said cut the crap! Upstairs, NOW!" "But Niiiiiiiiiick I was just putting together this plasma accelerator so I could calibrate it wi…" Tony Stark cut his whining mid-sentence when he caught the murdering looks Fury was shooting at him. "Allright I'm coming, sheesh…"

The billionaire wiped his hands to a piece of cloth and threw some design drawings in a box under the bench. "JARVIS, start analysis of the plasma accelerator, we'll do the calibration later. And you" he turned warningly towards a very timid DUM-E "are not getting ANYWHERE near the dust generator, understood? One more time finding my lab covered in bicarbonate and I'll sell you to the nearest fair as a ride for the children." Dum-E beeped sadly and rolled over to a corner. Tony plastered on his winning smile and walked to the door. "After you" he said gallantly. Fury huffed and stalked out of the workshop. "About time…" Tony rolled his eyes and his grin widened. Pissing off Fury was always a good source of entertainment.

~A~

A soft murmur of voices was heard when Tony entered the living room. Thor, Clint, Natasha and Steve were gathered around one of the sofas and Bruce just came out of the kitchen with a towel and a bowl of water. Tony shot him a questioning look, but the other scientist was too busy worrying about whatever that he didn't notice. Several S.H.I.E.L.D agents were scattered throughout the room, their gaze fixed at the sofa where the others had gathered. Stark frowned, was anyone injured? But all his teammates seemed to be okay, so what the hell did they need him for? Fury walked straight to the sofa and knelt down. The dark-haired genious quickly followed him, irritated that his teammates were blocking the view.

Finally Steve noticed Tony and beckoned him closer. "Hurry Tony, we really don't know what to do. Even Dr. Banner is clueless as to how to cure this." The blonde man's eyes were wide with worry and his face was pale. Tony quickly shook off his own unease and shoved Natasha and Thor aside. "If you keep surrounding whoever is on the couch like friggin' mother hens I'll never be able to figure out what's wrong. I need some data to work with now get lost!" he snapped, sounding harsher than he intended to hide his concern. Everyone quickly did some steps back and finally gave Tony a good look at the person on the sofa. Or actually persons.


	2. Coffee and Poking

A/N I do not own any of the characters or their original stories. I'm looking for a beta reader! Please R&R for a happy author.

Pepper sat on the right side of the couch, carefully cradling a blonde head in her lap. She looked up to Tony, her eyes pleading and full of concern. The billionaire carefully knelt next to Fury and took in the small figure that was lying under a blanket in front of him. Long, wavy blonde locks were spilled all over Pepper's lap and covered part of the girl's face. Tony carefully wiped them away to get a better look at her sweet face. The girl's eyes were closed tightly, her golden lashes rested on her cheeks and casted small shadows in the dim light. She had a small nose surrounded by some light freckles and pink lips, which were pressed together in pain. A small frown adorned the girl's forehead, causing a crinkle in her smooth pale skin. Suddenly, a tear escaped and trickled down her cheek. Pepper wiped it away and gently stroke the girl's hair in an attempt to soothe her. Fury moved to take her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Tony had never seen him this caring, but resisted to make a snarky comment about it. "What happened to her" he asked.

Director Fury sat down on the floor and shook his head. "We happened to her" he said. The playboy raised a questioning eyebrow. "Well that's informative." Nick gave him an annoyed glance and sighed. "Technically she belongs to us and to your father. He helped to create her." Tony Stark shot upright in disbelief and anger. "Howard created her? Was one super human not enough for him?" Next to him Steve cringed at this comment and Stark shot him an apologetic look, but he was in no mood for sweet-talk. "Of course it was not enough for him. It was never enough! And who's the one who has to clean up his mess… me!"

Nick Fury raised his hand and the billionaire shut up, seething on the inside. "Please Tony, that's not the point now. She's there and we'll have to deal with it." Nick gestured to one of the agents and Tony was handed a file with pictures and data. "May Lynne is essentially a normal human being, aside from some extra genes." Tony huffed sarcastically while flipping through the files. "Dragonfly, jellyfish, butterfly, oh and even some sort of nematode. Sure a very normal human being. What the hell were you trying to make?" Fury shrugged. "DNA is the same for every creature, it's easy to transplant. I'm not sure what she was supposed to be, but when she was born there was nothing special about her so they declared the experiment a failure. That was 23 years ago and she was given to the women who had given birth to her."

The director was interrupted by Bruce, who shoved past the men on the floor and sat down on the armrest, the water bowl in his lap. He dipped in the towel and carefully placed it on the girl's forehead. "Her fever is rising." Tony looked up at him. "So she has the flu, everyone call the press! Geez guys stop wasting my time!" He made ready to get up when Clint put a firm hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "Stop being an ass, Tony, and hear the director out." Annoyed, the playboy shook off his hand and whined "but what do you need ME for then. You've got your doctor and a bunch of mother hens to take care of the chick. I wanna go back to my plasma accelerator!" Pepper took a tip of the blanket and pulled it back, exposing the bare back of the girl. "We need YOU to find out what is causing THIS" and she pointed to darkened spots on the girl's shoulder blades.

He hated to admit it, but Tony was intrigued. He got on his knees and took a closer look, gently poking the too warm skin. The girl let out a whimper and weakly tried to move away. Pepper gave her boyfriend a chiding look. "Careful!" Stark mumbled an apology and caressed the dark spots. They felt oddly dry and the skin was so thin he could see the veins running underneath. A lot of veins. The billionaire frowned, there were not supposed to be that many. Very carefully, he tried to move the girl's skin to get a better look. He startled when suddenly a crack appeared with a soft ripping sound. Natasha gasped and Bruce yelled "Tony!" Tony quickly removed his hands. "I was only touching her very gently! Her skin is thin and dry like parchment." "Our doctors tried to heal those spots with all kinds of cream and lotions, but nothing seems to work. Every now and then chips will fall off." Fury informed him. "Her skin seems to become thinner and thinner. She's been like this for 3 days now."

Tony rubbed his face. "Well I may be genius, but I'm not a doctor. I have no idea what's going on. All I can see is the enormous amount of veins running underneath those patches, many more than humans are supposed to have." He took the girl by her small shoulders and turned her a bit to the light. "She doesn't seem to be in pain aside from those weird spots. JARVIS, scan her back and compare the date with an average girl of her age." "Yes sir, scanning in progress" the AI informed him. The genius Stark rubbed his eyes. It was way too damn early in the morning for this, he needed coffee. He got up, wobbled to the kitchen and made a mental note to never sit on his knees again. Tony felt his teammates staring at him and grinned. "Coffee, anyone?" He got several nods and yawns in return. "Girl may be dying and all he can think about is his goddamn coffee" he heard Clint muttering. The playboy's smirk widened and he threw a sofa pillow at the archer. "Don't get your lacey panties in a bunch, Legolas. I can't do anything until JARV is done scanning, I need data, remember? Now if you will shut up and help me with getting the party their coffee." He quickly duck as Clint tossed the pillow back and mock-danced his way to the kitchen with the grumpy man on his heels. "Good boy!"

Natasha shook her head as she watched the two men disappear. "Guys…" Thor was staring sleepily at the little figure on the couch. "I do not comprehend why we all have to attend this young lady's sickbed. I am in no way familiar with her, nor am I able to assist her at this moment." Natasha couldn't agree more and flopped down in one of the lazy chairs. Steve was pacing back and forth through the room. "Isn't there anything we can do to make her more comfortable?" Pepper shook her head. "Other than to keep her warm and hydrated, no. I'm afraid we have to rely on Tony for this one." She continued stroking the girl's hair, which seemed to have a calming effect on the patient. Nick Fury took May Lynne's small hand and awkwardly held it. He was clearly not used to soothing people. Soon after Clint came back into the living room, carrying a tray with cups and a huge coffee pot. Tony followed him with a plate of cookies and pop tarts, which make Thor sit up straight and rub his eyes. "Finally, some edibles for a hungry stomach!" he bellowed. "Thank you, my friend!" The demi god was immediately shushed by Bruce and Pepper and he mumbled a crumb-filled apology. Tony managed to rescue a cookie and nibbled happily on it while he listened to JARVIS's report.

"I compared her data with Caucasian females of her age, as that seemed to be the most appropriate reference group. Her general physical condition does not deviate from standard, aside from the raised temperature caused by the fever. Also, she is relatively small for her age and nationality. The most significant deviation is in the area of her shoulder blades." Tony huffed "no shit, Sherlock." JARVIS ignored him and continued explaining. "That area appears to contain much more muscular tissue than normal. This tissue extends from her shoulder blades to her chest. The increased muscle mass is accompanied by a large expansion of the vascular network. My scans indicate a very high energy consumption in these tissues, as if it is still developing. There also seems to be development of another tissue. I do not have sufficient data as to deduct the nature of this material. The skin above the highly active areas is being dehydrated and broken down for unknown reasons. The fever and pain is likely to be caused by the active processes at her shoulders" the AI concluded. Anthony dipped his cookie into his coffee and thoughtfully sucked on it. The rest of the team stared at him, waiting for him to make some sense of the jibber-jabber JARVIS had produced. Only Bruce seemed to have understood and was carefully investigating the dry patches on the girl's back.

Tony snapped out of his thoughts, popped the remains of the cookie into his mouth and smirked wryly. "Seems like she has something growing on her back"


	3. Morning!

A/N I do not own any of the characters or their original stories. Please R&R for a happy author. I'd like to know if it's worth continuing.

Everyone stared at Tony in disbelief. "Something's growing on her back?" Bruce asked in disbelief. "What the hell should that be? And why?" The billionaire shrugged. "I dunno what or why. Must have something to do with her odd gene make-up." He got up and sauntered around the living room. "JARV, any idea what we can do about it?" "No sir, it seems to be a natural process rather than a disease. It's progressed too far to reverse it, for that will only cause more damage than good. I suggest you make her comfortable in one of the guestrooms and closely monitor the progress of the young lady's physical development." Tony nodded and leaned against the sofa, his mind buzzing with questions and possible answers. Bruce removed the damp towel from Lynne's face and wetted it again before putting it back. The blonde girl sighed and rolled to her back, snuggling into Pepper's side. She groggily opened her eyes and stared at nothing in particular.

Tony leaned over the couch and tried to catch her gaze. Finally she noticed him and tried to focus on his face, but her eyes kept glazing over. "Hey sleepy-head" Tony said teasingly. "It's time for you to get up, a bed is much more comfy than the sofa." The little thing blinked and frowned in an attempt to understand what he was saying, but the fever had her under too much. She sighed again and closed her eyes, too tired to care. Pepper stroked her hair and looked around for help. The blonde girl was promptly lifted off her lap by Steve, who carefully held the girl against his chest. Lynne moved restlessly as her shoulders came to lean against his upper arm, but she didn't make any sound of protest. Steve walked out of the living room and climbed the stairs to the guest bedrooms, followed by a worried Pepper and Bruce.

In the living room, Tony decided to follow Thor's and Natasha's example and flopped down on the sofa. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, wishing for all the madness around him to disappear. Sometimes it would be easier if he hadn't accepted all these morons into his house. But then again, it would be very, VERY boring if he had no one else to pester but Pepper. "JARVIS, keep an eye on that girl, will ya" he ordered lazily. "Yes sir." The playboy nodded to himself and let his mind wander to the project he had been working on. Perhaps it would be better if he tweaked the plasma accelerator a bit, so he could use it for another stealth project he had made plans for. On the back of his mind he heard Thor humming some Asgardian tune and director Fury was talking on the phone. Tony was roughly dragged from his musings when somebody landed on the couch right next to him and lips were pressed to the corner of his mouth. "Hi Pepper sweet" he mumbled and pulled the slim body against him without opening his eyes. Pepper snuggled against the man and rested her head on his chest. "She's sleeping now" she informed her beloved. "Bruce says her fever is stable and JARVIS confirmed that there were no changes in heart rate or blood pressure." Tony pressed his nose into her hair and took a deep breath. "Hmm.." He felt Pepper smile and pulled her in even closer. Sofa, Pepper, perfect.

~A~

Tony slowly drifted to consciousness when he felt something move at his chest. It was nice and warm, stop moving. He tightened his embrace around the source of comfy and pressed his face to whatever it was that smelled so good. Oddly enough that thing chuckled softly and he felt a soft kiss on his lips. "Wake up Tony, I have to check on our patient." "Hmggh" the billionaire protested, unwilling to do any waking up any time soon. Sadly, the warm softness called Pepper worked herself out of his grip. With a sigh, Tony rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to the glaring morning sun that was shining through the large windows of the living room. Ugh, too damn early. He rubbed his eyes and looked up to the lovely face that amazingly enough belonged to a person who loved him. "Pep" he smiled widely and stretched his arms. Pepper laughed and bent over for another kiss, only to be pulled over onto her boyfriend with a loud squeak. Tony chuckled and cuddled her tight, loving the way she looked all sleepy and messed up in the morning. He planted a last kiss on her cheek and let go, knowing she had tons of work to do.

He sort of listened to JARVIS's rambling about the weather and the news, while Pepper made him coffee in the kitchen. The living room was empty. Apparently everyone had left when he and Pepper snuggled up on the sofa. Must have been the overload of awesome gathered on one couch. The playboy ran a hand through his messy brown hair and decided it was a good day for a ride in one of his old-timers. "Pep!" he called out to the kitchen. "Wanna go for a ride later today?" Pepper emerged with his coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs on toast. "Maybe, if you promise you'll be in time for the board meeting at 12." Tony pouted. "But Peppeeeeeeeeeer you know I hate those! And besides I'm never late, I'm the boss!" Pepper shot him an amused look. "You'll be there anyways, and at noon! Oh and please check on Lynne before you hide yourself in your lab." Tony's fork stopped halfway his mouth as he tried to remember who Lynne was. Lynne…oh that little blonde thing Fury had made such a fuss about. The egg dropped off his fork and the billionaire gave it a glare. Damn gravity, he should do something about that. "Ehh yeah, Lynne…right. I'll…have a look." Pepper gave him a quick peck on the lips and made her way to dress for the day. "Meeting, at noon!"

After Tony finished his breakfast he dumped the plate in the sink and hopped to his room for a quick shower. He gave a tap on his arc reactor, just for fun, and put on some nice jeans and a black shirt. Time to get to work and get dirty! But first he had to check on the girl, Lindsey or whatever. "JARVIS, status update on the girl." "No significant change sir. Her fever is still stable and the amount of activity in her shoulders remains high. However, her pain levels seem to have dropped." Tony passed Thor's room, man that god-ish guy could snore! He gave a quick drum on the door of the guestroom and entered. It was quite dark in there, the curtains were drawn closed. The small figure in the bed moved and two hazed blue eyes looked up at him. "Hey there sunshine" the billionaire greeted, feeling a bit -okay very- uneasy in the presence of a sick person. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at the girl. "Uhm, do you need anything?" The girl shook her head and closed her eyes. "Miss Potts gave her a glass of water before she left for work" JARVIS informed. "Oh, allright. Well…I guess I'll have a look at your back then." He waited expectantly, but the little figure didn't react. "So…just turn on your stomach, or do you need help?" "It would be wise to assist her" JARVIS offered. Tony ignored him and gently grabbed the girl by her shoulder. She opened her eyes and tried to cooperate. The dark-haired man pulled away a pillow so she would be more comfortable - yes he could be nice if he felt like it- and pushed down the blanket. He flipped on the bed light to get a better view and gasped.


End file.
